As disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2004-155428 (JP 2004-155428), box packing devices that pack articles from a horizontal direction into a horizontally opened cardboard box are known. In the device disclosed in (JP 2004-155428), a horizontally opened cardboard box is carried in a horizontal direction and is then transported by a conveyor in the vertical direction to a box packing mechanism that packs articles into the cardboard box.
However, this configuration requires installation of a conveyor for transporting the cardboard boxes in the vertical direction. Further, vertical transportation of the cardboard box to the box packing mechanism is time-consuming.
In response to these issues, the inventor of the present invention conceives that the conveyor for vertically transporting the cardboard box can be eliminated and swift vertical transportation of the cardboard box can be achieved by dropping the horizontally opened cardboard box.
This configuration requires a guide member for maintaining the posture of the cardboard box appropriately while the cardboard box is dropping and after the cardboard box has dropped and for restricting a movement of the lid of the cardboard box in the horizontal direction to prevent the lid from closing.